These are the images entered into the SA Media Awards 2021. I'm so proud and grateful to have been awarded Best News Photograph for "Raising Ash", an image taken of CFS volunteer firefighter Shane Leahy and his pup Ash. Shane's house was lost to the fires while he was out battling to save others.
My body of work, "Letters from Hell" was awarded Best Photographer 2021. It contains a series of images from the bushfires on Kangaroo Island: Fr Mark Sexton, who provided important mental health relief and care to the Australian Defence Force personnel; a firefighter climbing over a deadfall to join his mates in the inferno below; British photographer David Yarrow capturing an iconic photo for Leonardo Dicaprio's foundation WildArk.org. When Dicaprio posted the images on Instagram, they received over half a million likes in just a couple of hours and the foundation raised millions of dollars to assist with koala rehabilitation around Australia; Firefighter Sam Mumford holds a lamb standing on the site where he lost a flock of 600 sheep during the fires. CFS volunteer Mumford continued to fight the fires with his mates even though he fractured his wrist and suffered a tiger snake bite in the action.